Jigoku

I usually find it positive if I can't categorize a movie and Jigoku surely gets the point from that. It's somewhat bizarre combination of drama, horror, film noir and art house where happy moments are more rare than good movies in Hollywood.

While the hell sequences of Jigoku seem to gather most of the attention I think that the story as a whole is what makes this movie good. It proceeds fluently from disaster to another and while some events lead to unexpected results the script never leaves a viewer with a feeling that the twist was added just for the twist's sake (as is the case with many new movies).

Technically the movie is awesome; good acting, great score (especially the haunting vocals) and beautiful cinematography. From modern perspective some of the hell sequences are way outdated (mainly the demons) while some look brilliant even today (settings like the river bank and some of the gore effects like the guy who gets flayed).

I doubt that Jigoku pleases everyone but if you're into bleak and uncompromising movies this is almost a must see. 8/10

The kind of film that sounds really exciting, and is interesting, but you wish it were a bit better than it is. Its reputation is based mostly on the final 40 minutes, where all the characters take a vacation to the bowels of Buddhist Hell (pretty much like Christian Hell, but with more lotus flowers). The first hour or so isn't much less hellish. A college student and his wicked friend mow down a drunk gangster in their car. The student, burdened with guilt (somewhat nonsensical guilt seeing as it wasn't his fault), starts seeing tragedy occur all around him. In just the next several days, all kinds of people with whom he associates die. It's never his fault, per se, but for some reason he always blames himself. That first hour is a little boring and a little confusing – I was wondering if the guy was supposed to already be in hell. The hell part is pretty cool, but also fairly silly. What always works in Jigoku is the cinematography and art direction. This is a damn cool looking movie. I wouldn't particularly recommend it, but it's worth seeing just for the cool parts.

I had read about and seen stills from this movie for years. I had heard how freaky and bloody and scary this movie's vision of hell was, but I never got a chance to actually see it. Finally I was able to secure a copy and I sat down to watch the horror.

For the first hour of this film we watch as our hero lives a life that is more or less a living hell. More horrible, terrible things befall him and those around him than anyone outside of a soap opera has a right to expect. Very act is bound to damn someone to hell and it isn't long before our guilt ridden hero crosses over and experiences what true torment is. Its enough to make you want to laugh were it not played so painfully straight.

What we see once we get to Hell itself looks great. Even some 40 years after it first marched across theater some of the shots of flayed flesh and disemboweled intestines are still shocking. The cramped and dark vistas are something out of a nightmare. Many tormented images you'd almost be proud to have on your walls.

Is it scary a bit but its not the be all and end all that some had made it out to be. Then again the films images have been raided by others so it less shocking. I also find that some of the pacing is off and what may have once worked now borders on tedious.

The film seems to be saying that all life, here or in the next world is miserable hellish and that no matter what we do we're doomed simply to suffer. A happy little film if there ever was one.

I like the film but far from love it. The first part is very soapy and over blown, while the second is almost a catalog of horrors. I give it points for trying but I don't think it completely works.

Should you see it?

A coin toss. It really depends on what you're looking for. If you're looking, for gore and guts, its here but not enough to make you walk away happy. Are you looking for a meditation on sin, guilt and existence, you may like it, especially if you can get past the soap. If you want to see a technically well made film that doesn't quite work but influenced later films and which will provide some discussion over dinner, then try it.

I give it 7 out of 10 for the parts more than the whole.

I read about this movie when I was a kid. Never thought that much about it since I would probably never see it. Recently rented it off Netflix and WOW! Nakagawa's message comes through loud and clear across 46 years and the even wider cultural gap between US and Japan. Unusual stylization (truly hope to see this on a theater screen someday) is incredibly effective as a purely aesthetic experience (meaning you could turn off the subtitles and still be enthralled by the visuals and the music) AND as an elegy for the Japanese traditions of beauty and honor. You can read the various summaries in other posts. Suffice it to say this movie qualifies as a masterpiece if you don't go into it with "horror movie" expectations. See it!

Jigoku (1960) is a Japanese horror movie that I recently watched on YouTube. The storyline follows a group of people who have all done heinous sins and now meet at the gates of hell. They tell each other their backstories and then prepare to do the time for their acts.

This movie is directed by Nobuo Nakagawa (The Living Koheiji) and stars Shigeru Amachi (The Ghost of Yotsuya), Kiyoko Tsuji (House), Utako Mitsuya (Evil Brain from Outer Space) and Yôichi Numata (Ringu).

This is one of those movies with a slow burn and focuses initially on the characters, their backstories and present circumstances before things get really exciting, then the last 20 minutes are outstanding. The background music and sound effects are excellent and the director has good use of color to create intensity, especially at the end. This is one of those movies with great use of a fog machines from beginning to end. I will say the cinematography is inconsistent but the kill scenes at the end are awesome and there's a decapitation scene that makes this movie worth watching alone. The corpses are also very well done and the conclusion is worthwhile.

Overall, this movie isn't perfect but it is well made, has some tremendous kills and does have a worthwhile ending. I would score this a 7/10 and recommend seeing it once.